Interstellar object emits metal that suggests 'technological origin'

"An Earth-based telescope has captured an interstellar object speeding through our Solar System, spewing a mysterious metal that defies natural expectations. The Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile detected an unusual nickel plume from the object, known as 3I/ATLAS, which differs sharply from natural comets that always emit nickel alongside iron, which was not detected. Harvard physicist Avi Loeb highlighted the anomaly, noting that this nickel signature is a hallmark of industrial production of nickel alloys."

"'The paper suggests that chemical formation occurs through the nickel carbonyl channel, an extremely rare process in comets, but a standard technique in industrial nickel refining,' he added. Data show that 3I/ATLAS is shedding nickel at roughly five grams per second and cyanide at 20 grams per second, with both rising sharply as it nears the sun. The study suggested the nickel might be released from dust through gentle processes, like sunlight, causing it to evaporate or break down small nickel-containing compounds"

The Very Large Telescope in Chile detected an unusual nickel plume from interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, with iron conspicuously absent. The nickel signature resembles industrial nickel alloy production, and chemical formation may occur via the nickel carbonyl channel, an extremely rare cometary route but a standard technique in industrial refining. Observations show shedding of roughly five grams per second of nickel and twenty grams per second of cyanide, both increasing as the object approaches the Sun. Nickel may be released from dust through gentle processes such as sunlight-driven evaporation or breakdown of small nickel-containing compounds.

Read at Mail Online